Crassula, Crassula or "money tree" - this is one of the most famous home and office plants. Unpretentious, it feels great in any conditions, in bright light or in a darkened corner. In Feng Shui, a lot of attention is paid to him, it is believed that by successfully placing such a plant at home, one can attract wealth. In fact, this is a moot point, because if you dream about wealth and not make any efforts, then no fat girl will help. However, we leave this question to the discretion of the reader. Today we are interested in what kind of land is needed for the “money tree” so that it develops well and does not hurt. And then it will wither away, what is the prosperity of the house after that ?!
A little about the plant itself
To find the ideal conditions for the flower, you need to know about its features and preferences: where it comes from, what root system, attitude to watering and the requirement for the presence of nutrients in the soil. All this plays a big role. Some especially finicky specimens can be grown only by creating greenhouse conditions for them. Fortunately, the fat girl has nothing to do with such. It belongs to succulents, and therefore is already prepared by nature to survive in the most extreme conditions. Even a beginner florist who has no idea about growing indoor plants will be able to contain such an instance in his windowsill. Today we will not only talk about what kind of land is needed for the “money tree”, but also consider the features of planting and care.
Where to put the plant
Insufficient space in apartments is a real problem, so there is only one option for flowers - this is the windowsill. But the illumination on each of them can be very different. This whole day is generously flooded with sunbeams, and the other is in the shadow of large trees or neighboring houses. Of course, the difference between plants that stand on one and the other will be obvious.
The fat woman loves diffused light. In the room it is recommended to put it on the southeast windows. Surprisingly, this is fully consistent with the opinion of Feng Shui experts, so that your welfare will also be under reliable protection. Below we will talk about what kind of land is needed for the “money tree”, and see that, depending on the temperature and light conditions, this indicator may change. The hotter your window, the less sandy and loose the soil should be. But the fat woman does not like direct sunlight, in this case the lower leaves turn red, wither and fall off.
Need fresh air
Succulents very poorly tolerate the lack of ventilation, so with the onset of the summer period it is best to take the fat girl to the balcony. So she will be quite comfortable, just remember to pritenit from direct sunlight. If the balcony is located on the east side of the house, then ideal conditions for the growth and development of the plant will be created here. In winter, the pot is best moved to the south side, since a lack of light is no less harmful than an excess of sunlight, this point also needs to be taken with all attention.
Watering a plant
This is the last moment that we wanted to consider before moving on to what kind of land is needed for the “money tree”. To ohm should always be in a slightly wet state. You can not let it dry out too much, but you do not need to fill the plant. Therefore, the amount of water introduced is closely related to the choice of soil. A moderately loose and nutritious land will allow you to optimize watering without any additional effort. To do this, once a week it’s good to walk along the pots with a watering can. In a very hot season, you can enter an additional once a week, for example, if you did a round on Sundays, now it’s also on Wednesday. In winter, like all cacti, the fat woman has a rest period. The soil needs to be moistened about once every two weeks.
Earth, how much in this word ...
In fact, novice gardeners have the impression that a cactus can be planted in any soil. Apparently, they think so because they can withstand extreme temperatures for a long time, do without water and feeding. This is actually a big mistake. Land for the “money tree" must be special. Not only the fat woman, but also any stem succulent has high soil requirements. He does not fit fertile, well-fertilized garden land, but bare stones too.
Three whales"
It’s enough for you to observe the conditions that we’ll talk about now, and your fat woman will delight you with her beautiful appearance for many years:
- light, loose structure;
- good aeration;
- excellent drainage.
There is nothing complicated. Land for the “money tree" simply needs to be porous and light. The availability of nutrients is not so important as to focus on this. Separately, we will talk about the PH level. With strong acidification, the fat woman will have a bad time, but the vital activity of the plant leads to its gradual alkalization.
The money tree blooms willingly, but only if there is a sufficient amount of mineral fertilizers. In this case, an excess of organic matter is not at all desirable for her. Humus to soil is not recommended. Succulents grow quite slowly, and excess nitrogen, on the contrary, stimulates rapid cell division. As a result, the outer skin cracks and the plant becomes scarred.
Use of finished soil
The easiest way is to buy the mixture in the store, in this case you do not have to rack your brains on what kind of land is needed for the “money tree”. The composition in this case is selected by experts in the field of floriculture, however, it can be significantly improved if you add coarse sand, brick chips or pebbles. Drainage should be such as to exclude even short-term waterlogging. That is, an earthen lump, ideally, quickly gets wet and gives away excess water.
Be sure to study the composition indicated on the label. The main component of most shop substrates is peat. It has a high acidity, which is reduced by adding ground limestone. But peat itself can be different, so do a wetting test. Horseback is very light, it practically does not contain nutrients, retains moisture for a long time, and after drying it is extremely poorly wetted. Lowland peat is heavy and quickly cakes. It is necessary to add more sand and other baking powder to it.
As you can see, it is not so easy to answer the question of what land the “money tree" needs to be planted in. Maybe it would be better to mix it with your own hands? Let's look at what components it should consist of.
Base composition
Experienced flower growers will never buy ready-made soil, because it is much better to make a composition optimized for a particular plant. And indeed, here you are buying a package that says "soil for succulents." And this group includes hundreds of different plants, each of which has its own preferences. Is this good for him or bad? Apparently, the plant will survive, but it will be difficult to call the optimal conditions.
So, they brought us a young “money tree”. Land for planting should be ready, or you urgently need to take up its mixing. The basic composition is considered, in which 40% of turfy land, 40% of leafy land and 20% of coarse sand or small pebbles. A very simple, versatile and high-quality composition will allow your fat girl to turn into a real tree and delight you with flowering.
Stocking up turf land
If you like succulents and plan to have at home not just one, but several pots, then it is recommended to think in advance about which land you need to transplant the “money tree” into. So, you need to prepare a turf substrate. To do this, it is advisable to visit a meadow or an old pasture. In fact, this is the upper horizon of the soil, which is penetrated by living and dead roots and shoots of plants. A sharp object will need to cut a layer of 5-10 cm, and you take it home as a substrate.
Humus leaf
But turf is not everything. We have already said above which land is suitable for the “money tree”. It should be loose, light and nutritious. This humus is obtained as a result of overheating of fallen leaves. He is much lighter than turf. You can collect it in your garden, in a park or square. There are some limitations. Do not take humus from under coniferous plants and poplars. The soil will be too acidic, and the fat woman will start growing very late. Due to the high content of tannins, you should not use humus from oak and ash.
Sand or pebbles
There is one rule here: do not use small fractions, which are most often used in construction. Such sand includes a huge amount of dust and cement the soil. If there is no other option, then it will be necessary to thoroughly rinse, dry and sift it in order to separate the largest particles. However, it is best to take only coarse sand or make brick crumb yourself. Small pebbles, expanded clay and others are also suitable.
Enriching the soil
Our story about what land the “money tree" is transplanted into is almost complete, but one more important point needs to be mentioned. Since the fat woman is well related to mineral fertilizing, it would be nice to additionally add them to the soil. To do this is very simple, just add a small amount of wood ash or chopped coal. This will save you from the need to feed plants in the near future. You can add a small number of broken shards or bricks to the substrate. This will increase the porosity of the soil, and in addition, pieces of burnt clay will absorb excess moisture.
Substrate acidity
This is another important indicator that you need to pay attention to. If we talk about succulents in general, then they quite easily tolerate even excessive acidification, but the fat girl does not like it at all. Therefore, it is necessary to determine, before planting a "money tree", what acidity the earth needs.
The finished soil mixture is checked with an ordinary indicator paper, which is sold in stores for gardeners. Ideally, if the indicators are 5.5-6.5. How to do it? To do this, the soil is mixed with distilled or cold boiled water. Next you need to navigate the situation. To make the mixture more alkaline, add chalk, and for acidification - peat. If the composition is too acidic, and you don’t have anything at hand to normalize this indicator, you can simply spread the soil in the open air and do not forget to water it. After 3-4 weeks, it will be ready for use.
Landing technology
Now it’s clear what kind of land will be considered optimal for the “money tree”. There was the last question: "How to prepare the soil?" First of all, it must be disinfected. To do this, it is enough to take large dishes, put wet sand on the lower tier, and all other components on top. Hot steam will completely disinfect the soil when heated.
Now you need to find the right pot. The fat girl does not like too big ones, so choose the one with which the root system enters with a margin. If necessary, the plant can be transplanted. The best time for this is the beginning of spring. Be sure to stock up on the drainage layer. Now carefully remove the plant from the pot, and then transfer to a new one. It remains only to sprinkle voids with earth. Watering the fat girl in the first 3-5 days is not recommended, since the root system should move away from the injuries.
We form a plant
"Money tree" may be different. If several sprouts sit in one pot, they will stretch and lose their decorative appearance. And even one seedling is able to lean left or right under its own weight. Therefore, as soon as the branch has gained 3-4 leaves, pinch it. Then the fat woman grows with a well-designed center and a lush crown.
Instead of a conclusion
As you can see, growing this plant has its own characteristics, but is not at all difficult. Having learned how to prepare a substrate, you will never purchase it in a store again. Home soil mixtures are distinguished by an individual approach to each plant. In addition, you know exactly how they were made, which formed the basis for them. It remains only to observe the optimal temperature regime, not to overflow the plant, and the fat woman will delight you with an amazing crown for a long time.